cktimes.ca Archives for Notes from a Garage


Notes from a Garage

With John Gardiner

And the hits just keep on coming!!!!!

Tuesday, January 14, 2003

Well, we're rolling along here at cktimes. Working hard to bring you a good, highly readable publication that you will find interesting and informative. I hope you'll understand that this project remains in its infancy – there is a long way to go. I have been encouraged by the growth we've experienced over the last few months, but I also remain frustrated that growth hasn't been faster and that I haven't been able to accomplish more. I can see this as a very positive factor in the future of our community – a way for us all to get to know each other. But I continue to need your help. If you're a member of a group or organization in Chatham-Kent, and you want to get your message out to the public, try using cktimes to reach your audience. We continue to get a goodly number of hits – near the 50,000 per month mark – and that means your message is reaching a large and diverse group of people from across our community and beyond. I am trying to do the best I can to contact you, but I'm only one guy (for now) and I need the support of the community to make it work – I can pull it together but I can't gather it all up. Thanks to all of you who've been a wonderful support for me in the early going. More to come.

A huge hats off to our local radio station, CFCO/CKSY and the ROCK. I had the pleasure of sitting down with Station General Manager Carl Veroba last week and hearing a little about the philosophy the station uses when working with and for the community. I've long known about Carl's commitment to community and it's great to see that the whole staff has bought into it. CKSY morning man Greg Hetherington, who won the Citizen of the Year award last year in Chatham, is only one example. As I've been making my rounds for cktimes, I've been meeting people from one of the three stations at almost every turn. They are very involved in the community and working hard to make a positive difference. Good for them! And it's a real bonus for us that they are locally owned – at least that's my opinion. They have a firm stake in our community and true realization of the responsibility they hold as a major media player. Thanks to Carl for his time. And good work to the folks at our local radio station.

So, there I was last week, watching the DVD version of The Last Waltz, a great rockumentary featuring the Canadian group, The Band. Indeed, The Last Waltz has been called the greatest rock film ever made and it just very well might be. Anyway, there's a priceless moment for Canadian rock fans in the film. The Band, as some of you might know, is mostly Canadian – four out of five of them and they all come from Southern Ontario. They were joined onstage by Neil Young and we all know where he's from. Then, this mournfully, beautiful female vocal line is added – it's Joni Mitchell. Their voices are joined in the Neil Young classic, Helpless. It brings tears to my eyes to see this collection of Canadian talent gathered together on the stage of San Francisco's Winterland Gardens, one of the most famous rock venues in the Western World. We've done okay, man – we've made a good contribution.

And still in the music vein, how about this? For the last decade, I have toiled away on behalf of the Wallaceburg Arts Council to try to create something called the Glass Onion Folk Club. I have brought some of the finest in Canadian folk and blues talent to Wallaceburg with varying degress of success. Performers like David Essig, Cedric Smith, Harry Manx, Willie P. Bennett and a whole host of biggies have been to the Glass Onion. This Saturday night, the Glass Onion will present the Rick Fines Trio for the fourth consecutive year on the same weekend in January. What's different this time? We're sold out! I kid you not, but it's Tuesday, and we're actually sold out. It's like the Christmas miracle come early (or late). You will never know how much blood, sweat and tears I have shed (and my wife) to try to build this series into a viable reality. I hope we're finally there. Thanks to everyone who has helped along the way. Special thanks to Sharon and Terry Stenton of Wallaceburg – Sharon for constantly being there to help out – and Terry, not only for helping out, but for giving me the idea to begin with. Stay posted to the Glass Onion link on the home page for updates when they are available.

Almost out of space (time?) for another week. Don't forget to support the sponsors we have on the site – because if we don't have our sponsors, there won't be a cktimes.

Take care in the week ahead, and remember....."Hew to the line; let the chips fall where they may."



John Gardiner is a 25-year-veteran of the community newspaper business, but he is also a prolific writer of moralistic short fiction he refers to as "emotional thoughtscapes" or "adult fables". Samples of his fiction can be found at:

He has also produced a noteworthy piece of humanist philosophy which can be found at: http://www.xs4all.nl/~aboiten/ad502.htm He welcomes comments on his work.